Its a Wonderful Life Right?
by Ikasury
Summary: There comes a point in everyone's life, where no matter how things are, you wish it would end, that it would stop, and worst comes to worst, you wish you were never born... very few get to see the world created from that wish, even fewer return from it...
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This is a side project, something that's been in my head, just... well.. it writes itself when its 4am... this'll be very small, chap-wise, and rather dark, i'm not sure if there's a happy ending in here -.-

Dis: only one i want to put, i don't own 'Naruto' or the movie 'Its a wonderful life' and if you've seen it... well... i guess you get where this is going... and this features one character of mine, plus a few concepts my wondering mind comes up with... tis all...

Play, Start!!

**

* * *

Prologue**

The last thing seen in his eyes was a strange light glaring from the window beside his bed. In his dazed and groggy mind it was like the light of god slipping in to reach out and grab a hold of his ethereal self and drag it back to where ever the blinding light came from. As his head slipped back the light pasted his eyes until a gray mass was in front of him. The world was fuzzy, the light draining from the edges and being consumed by blackness. He never felt his head hit the backboard of his bed, nor its fall to the side along the soft pillows that called his weary body to their sweet embrace. His glazed eyes barely registered the gray shifting, moving around him and becoming a darker shade of blue. He lost track of the pounding in his mind that was slowly ceasing, the fading motion of rise and fall that was considered normal, the slow pressing numbing in his fingers, all sense of touch, smell, hearing and taste being absent. All that was left was his vision, and soon it too would disappear, be eaten away by the blackness at its edges, holes poking through it as the spots seemed to multiply, grow brightly then eventually fade out only to be replaced by a growing dimness that was slowly fading to black.

-_Finally…_-

Even the voice in his mind could barely muster the strength to form a coherent thought, the other one gone long ago having been unable to fight its master's plans.

-_Its… over…_-

The haze had lost all color, grey raining supreme and merely awaiting the final fall of the last of the light.

-_It'll… be… better…_-

Heavy lids long forgotten began their purpose, ideally closing out the remaining light, for the last time.

-_You'll… be… happy… now…_-

The light faded, the images lingered and faded past still orbs, all was still.

-_Say…_-

A distant sound…

-_ou…_-

A fragment of movement…

-_na…_-

A familiar presence…

-_ra…_-

And an empty blackness…


	2. Part the First

**Part the First…**

"_Oi…_"

A voice called from the emptiness.

"_Hey…_"

It seemed to be coming closer, a strange shade coming to the darkness.

"_Gaki!!"_

The rumbling voice slowly becoming a growl, a form of motion moved pasted the darkness; the light seemed to be finding a way back. Slowly sensation came back. Something soft and sleek under once-numb fingertips, a faint throbbing in the back of his mind, and familiar raise and fall, an old taste in his mouth, the smell of green and fresh air in his nostrils, the sound of something falling on the ground.

-_Am I dreaming?_-

Out of reflex a forgotten appendage flexed causing the sensation of grass rubbing against calloused hands to become prominent. A swift intake of air brought the scents of a dewy morning forest to the back of his nose. The soft vibrations of morning birds' calls entered his ears creating the beautiful melody he heard. A deep yawn brought the taste of the sweet air to his tongue.

-_This is real, this is really real? I'm alive; it was all a bad dream…_-

As luck would have it, as the young man was finding the nerves to his eyelids and beginning to work them to test out his final sense, a presence he hadn't previously paid any attention to made itself know… with a swift kick to the ribs.

"AAAHHH-OOOOWWW!!" he screamed out in fury as the pain coursed from his injured side to the rest of his being all the way to the back of his brain. His initial response was to clutch his whole being into a tight ball, to crowed around the wound and make a wall between it and his apparent attacker. His second was roll on his side. The third was to crack one eye open and glare indignantly at whoever the hell just did that… only to quickly recoil from the bright light of the sun overhead, "AAAhh-shit, now my eye!!" and he repeated the previous three steps rubbing his eye vigorously to get the spots out, and carefully, slowly, crack open the other one, giving it time to get used to the new sensation called 'light'.

"Hmm… so it seems you've decided to get your ass up, ne?"

Over him stood a foreboding figure, magnified by the backlight of the sun darkening all their features and their towering size over the curled up boy below them. Even though they stood like a demon before the blinding light of Amateratsu he glared defiance to this figure, not caring if it was death or Kami itself, there was no reason for kicking someone who was just waking up!! After the momentary blindness passed color seemed to find itself back into his view, turning the foreboding shadow of a demon into the long brown trench coat of a human standing on a green field of grass.

-_What the…_-

Upon further inspection the 'field of green' was a forest full of trees, dark barked trees that looked almost white. –_Orange-blossoms?_- after his eyes adjusted to the illuminescense of the world, and he managed to crane his neck around to observe his surroundings he saw that the trees were in fact orange-blossom trees. He took in a deep breath enjoying the scent of the fruit that would eventually be produced by these beautiful trees.

"Oi, ya just gonna stare at the scenery all day?"

The young man's focus was returned to the person in the trench-coat. He looked directly at them and noticed the blue sky that was behind them. He blinked. Confused, he brought he gaze down and finally noticed that 'person' had crouched till they were down at his face level, and about 10 inches from it. "GAH!!" he quickly scooted back trying to make as much distance from them as he could, only to back himself up all the way to one of the trees he was previously admiring.

His response? A simple raised brunette brow.

"Oi!!" The young man raised his voice pointing at the interloper, "What the hell do you mean by sneaking up on a shinobi like that?!" –_not to mention giving one hell of a swift kick… Ite, my ribs hurt_- he thought, while keeping a cerulean glare locked on the brunette.

They tilted their head, supporting it in one hand, merely watching the young man with steel-like aqua-green eyes.

"Che," The young man pouted, "you just gonna stare all day? You were real talkative a moment ago, nee-chan!" the woman's eyes narrowed, the young man grinned cheekily, "what, thought I couldn't tell with that big trench-coat? HA!" he pointed his thumb towards himself, "Why you're looking at the Great Uzu- Ack!!" In less than a moment the young man found the woman next to him with her hand raised level with his forehead, then flicked it hard enough to send him back into the tree leaving a dent, and wondering how his forehead protector wasn't destroyed.

"Ite, ite, ite, kuso that was about as bad as when Baa-chan does it, ite, ite, ite," The young man was nursing his head, front and back, checking for blood, and just generally trying to rub the pain away.

"Are you finished?" came the woman's now familiar flat voice.

"Tch," was the blonde's indignant response as he continued to rub his head, "the hell, Nee-chan?" he looked up at her through squinted eyes, "What kinda woman wakes a handsome man, like me, up with a kick to the ribs?"

She rolled her aqua-green eyes. She leaned back slightly on her haunches, putting her hands on her knees and standing up to her full height, which was again towering over the young man. Her strange eyes just looked at the boy, "you just going to sit around all day complaining about a bruise, or you gonna get up and do something about it?"

Naruto just looked up at the woman, lowering his hand that was messaging the front of his head, and stared at her. There was something about her, something familiar that he couldn't quite place. He scrunched his face up in a pout, not really knowing why but just feeling the need to be somewhat counter-productive.

His face must have said a lot because the woman gave an odd kind of smile, not exactly friendly, but almost mothering, with a hint of a smirk thrown in, "Come on, let's go Otou-kun," she reached out her hand to the young blonde.

The young man was almost frozen at the words, and the tone was even stranger, familiar, close, it was weird since he was almost positive he'd never met this woman in his entire life. And yet, for some reason he had no comprehension of he felt he could trust her, confide in her, believe the hidden emotions he could almost find lurking in her eyes. An overwhelming sense of déjà vu swept over him as he reached for her hand and grabbed a hold of it…


	3. Part the Second

**Part the Second…**

Naruto followed the young woman in a heavy silence as they walked through the grove of orange-blossom trees. He was still rubbing the back of his head, pouting and glaring at the back of the woman's head, and while he had a feeling she knew he was doing it, he couldn't think of a reason not to; he was just an annoying troublemaker after all.

-_I don't get it…_-

The young blonde thought to himself, his squinted eyes watching the brunette in front of him.

-_I mean, I know I'm not the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but what's up with this chick?_-

He relaxed his head against both his arms, only mildly wary of the dull ache in the back of it.

-_I mean, she pops up outta nowhere, yells at me to get up, kicks me in the ribs…_-

He unconsciously rubbed the slightly bruised flesh on his side, sure that in less than an hour it'd be like nothing had ever happened, like everything else in his life.

-_Stupid…­_-

He grimaced at his own condescending voice. It's not like it was the first time he'd thought he was stupid… okay so maybe it was like the ten thousandth time he'd called himself 'stupid', but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less.

-_Tch, stupid brain, what do you know…_-

Now he felt even stupider for responding to the voice in his head… and no, **THAT** voice stopped talking to him long ago. So yet again he was all alone.

"Tch," he let out in a disgruntled fit, kicking a peaceful little rock well over one of the orange-blossom trees.

"Oi, Baka-Kitsune, what's eating you?" came the voice in front of him.

Naruto froze, no one, not even the people that knew dared to speak so blatantly about _Him_. It was like some unwritten rule, even his 'friends' avoided mentioning it.

The woman paused her walking and turned back at him with void eyes. Her aqua-green irises just looked him up and down like there was nothing special, "you just gonna stand there all zoned, Baka-kit, or what?"

"The hell'd you call me?" the blonde couldn't help it, this woman was making light of something that'd haunted him all his life, and he still didn't even know her name, and here she was acting like she'd known him her whole life.

She cocked a brown brow and glanced at him with her hands in her trench-coat pockets, "Hmm…" she seemed to take a moment to think while observing him, "Guess you still got that little trip going 'round this time, ne, Otou-kun?"

Naruto's brows furrowed, "what the hell are you talking about?" his cerulean eyes sharpened on the woman, "and what's with that attitude, it's like you know me?" he pointed at her, a curious fury lacing his eyes and voice, "Just who the HELL **ARE **YOU?!" his eyes narrowed as he calmed down a bit from yelling, this time absolute confusion in his voice, "and what the hell do you keep calling me!?!?!"

The woman just stared at the irritated blonde…

… For about five seconds before she busted out laughing.

A rather obvious twitch developed on the blondes left brow. He frowned, "WHAT?!?!" he yelled at the woman, and she seemed to just laugh all the more. Naruto looked away and pouted, again wondering what was up with this bipolar woman he was being forced to deal with.

"whoooa," she seemed to have calmed down, "man, I forgot how much of a whiney dip you were at this age," she seemed to giggled to herself while the blonde just glared at her, "man, that takes me back," she smiled at him, the strange one from before that made him feel oddly comfortable. She looked off into the forest with an odd smile on her face, "it's been such a long time…" she murmured to herself, but Naruto clearly heard her.

He scrunched up his face confused, "Oi, Nee-chan, what're you talking about?"

She looked back at the blonde with almost vacant eyes, ones Naruto recognized from long ago, "nothing, just the past," she began walking again, "and the future," this she said more to herself, and all it did was confuse the blonde all the more.


	4. Part the Third

**Part the Third…**

So for about an hour or so Naruto had been following this mystery chick. He'd yet to learn her name, why she calls him that weird 'Otou-kun' or the even stranger time she referred to him rather directly as 'Baka-Kit' or 'Baka-Kitsune'.

-_Hell I haven't even seen her hand… she flicked me so fast…_-

His curious blue eyes trailed to the side of the brunette woman before him. The whole time they'd been walking, and even when she was towering over him when he woke up, she had kept her hands in her pockets. It was starting to grate on him. He had honestly nothing better to look at and the forest was getting boring and about a half-hour ago they had left the orchard of orange-blossom trees and into a typical forest. So he started getting bored and noticing certain 'ticks' about his mysterious companion.

-_I wonder if she's got something wrong with her hands, or gloves on?_-

He looked back up to the back of her head. She had her mahogany colored hair tied up in a high ponytail, similar to how Ino had kept it, only he noticed a dark-blue band below where the tail was put up. When she faced him he hadn't notice what was on her forehead, he was too occupied with her strange colored eyes. But he had noticed that band after about fifteen minutes of staring at the bobbing ponytail.

-_I wonder what village she's from…_-

He couldn't help the ponders that followed. Was she a village Nin, or a missing one? Did she have a bounty on her head, or was she simply a traveler who liked the headband look? Was she from Suna? Kusa? Kiri? Kumo? Ame? Or was she from Konoha like him? Or… even worse… was she from Oto? His face scrunched up in a scowl at that thought.

-_Is she a spy? Or someone out to kill me?_-

That thought seemed strange to him, and even weirder that it had taken him THIS **LONG** to get to it.

-_Damn!! What if she is here to kill me?_-

The boy suddenly stopped. The thought for some reason shaking him to the core.

-_T-then w-why h-have I-I b-been f-following h-her?!_-

The brunette seemed to finally notice his pause. She turned slightly to look at him, raising a quiet brow in question, only to see him freeze more and seemingly avoid her eyes. Her brow only rose higher, "Oi, gaki? What's up with you?" again she got nothing as a response.

-_This is it; she's finally realized I know… oh crap!!_-

She turned to face him fully, only tilting her head to the side and staring at him with her aqua-green eyes. She seemed to only wait patiently for him to snap out of whatever was going on with him so they could continue.

Naruto's eyes immediately jumped to the metal plate over her forehead. He wanted to avoid her eyes least he become trapped in them again.

-_What?_-

He stared at the symbol displayed on her forehead. It wasn't an eighth note. It wasn't a boulder, or a cloud. It wasn't dashed lines or a razor of grass, nor wavy lines of mist. Hell, it wasn't even the strange 'I' symbol of Suna or the swirling leaf of Konoha. It had a spiral in the dead center, with a jut coming out on the top like a 'T' with another on the bottom only upside down, it vaguely made Naruto think it was an 'I' with a swirl in the center of it, and then on both sides of the swirling 'I' was a lightning bolt angled towards the swirling 'I'.

The boy was confused. He scrunched up his face and tilted it to the side, trying to get a better look at the symbol. Finding he couldn't decipher it any further, he figured he'd be blunt, "Oi, Nee-chan, what hitae-ate is that?" he pointed at the strange piece of metal on her forehead.

"Hmm?" she followed his pointing finger, overall just looking up before gazing back at him, "Oh, that's my village's hitae-ate of course." She gave him a cheeky grin, knowing it'd piss him off.

-_No duh_-

Was all the boy could think as he scowled at her, "No shit Sherlock, you figure that out on your own…" he pouted indignantly as she seemed to only smirk at his outburst. He pointed his thumb up at his own hitae-ate, "All ninja have these to represent what village they come from," he scowled and pointed at hers again, "What I **don't** get, Nee-chan, is what village are **you** from? I've never seen a symbol like that!!"

"Oh," she seemed to say innocently, she reached her hands out of her pocket to untie the thing and look at it more closely; a nostalgic smile coming to her face as she looked at the symbol and the various nicks and scratches in the metal. She looked up to Naruto, about to answer his question when she noticed the stricken way he was looking at her. She tilted her head to the side, "What's wrong now, Otou-kun?"

Naruto's voice completely left him as he watched her pull off her head band. At first his eyes had remained focused on the spot they the metal had been, then lingered when he noticed the discoloration on her forehead. A HUGE gash stretched under one of the long bangs that framed her face to the other, there were jagged marks coming off of it like the cut had been anything but clean, and the skin had obviously been ripped, HARD. As he looked closer he saw various other, distinctly smaller cuts, but compared to the sheer size of the one, they were barely noticeable. Then his eyes traveled to her once-hidden hands, and he realized very quickly why she kept them hidden. Just below the first knuckle on all of her fingers were deep, harsh, jagged lines, the discoloration made them obviously scars. Those were bad enough, but below those lines and spanning the entirety of her hands that he could see were numerous, almost countless scars of varying sizes and severity.

-_With wounds like that, how can her hands function at all…_-

He gulped again, another thought rushing into his mind.

-_If these are the visible scars… what does she have underneath everything else…_-

His cerulean eyes absentmindedly traveled over her long clothing, every other part of this woman was covered, from the large brown trench coat, to the black pants and combat boots, and for the first time he noticed she wore a Chuunin or probably Jounin flak-vest, zipped all the way up with a high collar, and the rest of her neck was covered by a black stretchy material he was almost sure would be a body suit underneath everything else. If that was any indication, then that meant the rest of her body was probably covered in scars just as bad, if not worse. He involuntarily shuttered as his eyes traveled back to hers, noticing the void look in them.

-_Oh crap I must have been staring awhile…_-

"Are you satisfied?" she said flatly, quickly replacing her headband and just staring at him, "There are reasons people keep things hidden, mostly because others can't stand to look," she began to turn, giving him one last look in the eyes, "It's better to ask then just stare blindly, you'll miss a lot if you just let your mind run wild." She completed her turn and continued down the road.

-_Oh shit, I think I made her mad…_-

"Ma-Matte!" Naruto ran up to her, stopping in front of her and holding his hands out in defense, "Gomen, I didn't mean to st-" She walked briskly past him as if not even noticing he was there. His slack-jawed surprise simply followed her as she went. He ran back up to her, this time his body keeping up to her pace instead of trying to stop her, "Will you listen to me, I'm sorry, okay, I didn't mean t-"

"'Hurt my feelings'?" She glanced over at him lazily, like he was a speck of dirt on her uniform, "I never said you 'hurt my feelings', Tch," she snorted, "like an idiot like you could possibly do that to me," then she snickered at her own sarcasm. Naruto glared a moment, opening his mouth to shout back only to find a horribly scared hand in his face. A particularly bad burn in the center of her palm kept his attention so she could continue, "I wasn't offended Naruto," the boy perked at his name, "I've dealt with things like this for far longer than you'd believe me to say," she put her hand back into her coat pocket, "It honestly doesn't faze me anymore," her aqua-green eyes steeled on his, "The only thing that irks me is that if you wanted to know why I've been rather conspicuously hiding my hands, you could have just asked, instead of having me pull them out like that…"

-_Huh?_-

Naruto nearly stumbled at what she said, but quickly corrected himself before his face met with the forest floor, "I didn't '_do_' anything," he pushed his lower lip up into a pout, "I was honestly curious about where you were from, I just got… kinda…" he scratched the back of his head lowering it from her stern gaze, "Just kinda distracted when I saw your hands and forehead." She seemed to eye him for any falsehoods; the blond just took a step from her and steeled his own eyes, "I'm serious!! I've never had a scar in my life, so every time I see them they surprise me, but yours…" he looked down slightly ashamed, "I've never, NEVER, seen anything like yours…" he glance back at her, finding she was watching the road ahead, "H-how…?" he honestly couldn't think of how to end that sentence.

-_How? How what? How did she get them? How did she SURVIVE them? How come they're still there? Why didn't she get rid of them? Do something about them? SOMETHING?!_-

His mind seemed to be raging for a question, but his body was still waiting for an answer. Just ANYTHING to wrap his brain around about what he'd seen. She seemed to quiet up, staring ahead with no real focus. The boy thought for a moment she wouldn't say anything, leaving his mind to wonder forever about something he'd never seen before on a living person.

"Heh," Naruto's eyes perked up to find an odd smile on her face, "You said the same thing the first time you saw what was underneath my hitae-ate," she closed her eyes and smirked, "Only back then I was wearing my father's 'X' slashed headband, not this one…" she looked over at him with the strange comforting smile of hers again, this time it held a nostalgic air to it, "I'll tell you about these later, if I'm allowed," she thumbed her headband, "Even this, depending on what choice you make," she looked ahead again, a slight frown wiping away her previous smile, "But now isn't the time, we have somewhere to get to," she immediately sped up her walk, leaving a surprised and confused Naruto to look back at her.

-_She said 'the first time I saw them'… but I'd honestly remember something like that on ANYONE… who is she?_-

The blond spared another moment, looking at the back head of brunette hair of perhaps the strangest person he'd ever met. Then he shook his head, and ran to catch up with her.

-_She said we have somewhere to be, maybe then… then I can get some answers…_-


	5. Part the Fourth

**Part the Fourth…**

"Ahh… here we are," after what was probably another half-hour of walking, or slight jogging depending on who you were, the mysterious woman stopped. They had been climbing uphill for the past ten minutes and Naruto had lagged behind her.

-_Damn woman can walk pretty damn fast; I had to almost run some of those times…_-

The boy with boundless energy was practically panting as he trudged his way up to the top spot on the cliff she was staring fondly out on, "Hey, Nee-chan, this better damn well be worth it o-" Naruto's words left him as he crested the cliff, his eyes finding what she was looking at.

-_Konoha…_-

He stared breathlessly at the city before him. He was amazed to find such a spot with a huge panoramic view of the city, forest, and even the Hokage monument.

-_Wait… that's not right…_-

The blond boy stared at the monument, counting quickly in his mind he noticed there were **6** faces, not 5 like he was used to.

-_The hell? Who are those others?_-

The fifth face was of an older looking man with a mane of spiky hair and two lines running down from his face. His face was smiling brightly, openly, and his eyes looked towards the sun with almost a fun-loving gleam to them.

-_Ero-sennin? But… h-how? He… he never became…_-

If the grinning face of his master Jiraiya etched in stone on the monument wasn't weird enough, the face to the perverted sennin's right was even weirder. This man had slanted gravity-defying spiked up hair, with his head-band covering his left eye and a mask covering the rest. His sole visible eye was simply stern and still, absolutely nothing like the carefree lazy teacher the blonde had come to know.

This time his thoughts wouldn't stay in his mind, "There's no way… **no**… **way**, Kakashi-sensei would be Hokage?!" he looked to the brunette to his right that had been quiet this whole time, "what the hell is going on? This is Konoha, right?" he looked back at the monument, not once seeing Tsunade's stern face marked in stone, only her teammate and his original sensei, "but… It can't be…"

He heard a _**click, click**_ from next to him and the scent of cigarette smoke became obvious, "This is the part of the job I hate…" the mysterious aqua-green eyed woman next to him took a long drag on a burning cigarette, removing it, and exhaling the toxic smoke, "This **is** Konoha," her strange eyes darted to his cerulean ones, "Just not **your** Konoha…"

"Wha-?" was all Naruto's frazzled brain could compute. He gripped his fists tightly, "The hell do you mean by that?! '**MY** Konoha' what kind of bullshit is that?!" he grit his teeth glaring at her, "There's only **ONE** Konoha, and this isn't **IT**!!" he angrily pointed at the deformed monument, rage pouring into every ounce of his being.

-_Whoever did that will pay!! No one messes with the monument, no one!!_-

She simply blew smoke into the fuming blonde's face, "It **IS** Konoha, weather you want to believe it or not," his face scrunched up into a snarl, she merely stared at him blankly, "If you want someone to blame, blame yourself," she poked him in the chest with her hand that held the lit cigarette, "**YOU** are the one that did this…" there was a gleam in her eyes, one that was very dark and cruel, almost accusing and swimming with hatred, that left a red-glare to her aqua-green eyes.

Naruto couldn't help the reflexive step back from the woman when he saw that look. It took a long moment for his mind to finally catch up to what she had said.

-_'__**MY**__ fault'?_-

His eyes met hers with the same fury, "how the hell is **this MY **_**FAULT!!**_" his voice became a yell as he was up in her face in an instant, angrily pointing at his defaced village, and the face's that didn't belong on the monument he knew by heart.

"Tch"

He felt a sudden pain in the back of his head as he was bodily flung into the large bough of an ancient tree. Once his eyes stopped spinning he looked up to see the ominous figure of that woman just staring down at him with that glare in her eyes, her unoccupied hand outstretched towards him in a completed 'flicking' motion and held there.

-_A flick? A simple flick can leave __**ME**__ so defenseless… I thought only Baa-chan could do something like that…_-

His eyes went from raging fury to stunned shock. His mind reeling from the comparison, and the strange similarities he found in his '_Baa-cha_' as with this woman. Sure the physical aspect was obviously different, this woman barely had any curves to her, but that was more due to her clothing then much else, but the fury and complete overwhelming sense of power she held, with a simple gaze or gesture. It certainly sent home the point to Naruto that he wasn't the top-dog on the food-chain.

"Are you willing to listen to what I have to say now, or do I have to beat you within an inch of your life for you to start?" her tone wasn't light, if anything it was heavy and thick with certain threat that she would do just that if he didn't comply.

The blonde hesitantly nodded.

"Good," she said as she looked over the village again, "about time I got to explain a few things…" she took another drag of the cigarette in her hand before dropping it and crushing the dying ember with no care or mercy, "As I said, this is Konoha, just not **your** Konoha…" she paused a moment, a hint of regret tinting her voice as she continued, "**That** died the moment you did…"


	6. Part the Fifth

**Part the Fifth…**

He felt numb, just numb. His cerulean eyes looked lost as he simply raised his gaze up to the brunette before him, her cold gaze kept on the village.

She sighed, "You asked me what village I came from," she raised her scarred hands to untie her Hitae-ate for the second time in Naruto's presence and revealed the horrible gash on her forehead. She looked him directly in the eyes, "And you asked me 'How?' in terms of this," she pointed her thumb to the scar, reveling again the horrible ones on her own hand. Her eyes grew narrower and colder, "You asked who I was, what I was doing, and why I was here?" she stood tall before him, towering over him like a giant, a frightening creature in the dimming light, "Do you still want to know?"

Naruto's mind was blank, completely silent, stunned, shocked, and numb all at once. This would have been one of those times he would have wished to have that old annoying bastard back in his head, having its snide remarks making fun of his stupidity, yelling at him for his impudence, hell just to explain what was going on in front of him. He barely registered the vacant up and down motion of his head while his eyes were trapped on her near glowing ones.

Her eyes narrowed, "you want to know?" his head involuntarily nodded, "**All** of it?"

His blue eyes narrowed as the first shred of spine came back to him, "Tell me," he glared at her with all his intent, "**All** of it!" he practically growled at the woman.

"Heh," she gave a snide smirk, "I am Mao Kida, the only four-tailed Ken-Oni in existence, the Celestial Guardian of the Center, and the first Gate Guardian," she snarled at the blond below her, eyes narrowing, "One thousand years ago, in my time, I lived as a Hanyou, as I was born, the name I went by in that life was 'Mai'," her aqua-green eyes clouded with memories, "Such a long time…"

She raised her gaze to meet Naruto's again, "Once, in that life, I was a ninja of Konoha," she raised her hand to silence the obvious question the young man sought to raise, "As I said 'in that life', I am no longer 'Mai', I am Mao Kida, 'Mai' lived here, she knew you and many others in this village, and in another, and at some point she died, and I was born…" she thumbed the band that would adorn her forehead, "'Mao' lives in Arashigakure no sato, in the firestorm country…" she sighed when Naruto continued with a blank stare, "A lot changes in one thousand years, brat…"

-_Well explains why I don't recognize the symbol… but that still doesn't explain a lot…_-

The blonde's blue eyes trailed the woman called 'Mao's' hands, "And the scars?" his voice was far more feeble then he expected it to be.

She audibly clinched her teeth, eyes taking on a murderous red hue, "You were lucky Jinchuuriki," her eyes feel on him and made the young man cringe, not just from the blunt stating of his deepest secret, but the sheer venom held in her eyes, "You were simply ignored, shunned, and hated… I… I…" her eyes clouded again with memories, the rage burning cold in her eyes, "I was a mistake," even Naruto cringed at the vehemence in her voice, "I was a monstrosity, one that was reminded everyday for the first six years of my life that I was an unwanted abomination," she unconsciously rubbed her scarred hands together, her free one over the other holding the hitae-ate of Arashi, her eyes taking on a vague hue, "I had I not had my 'mother's' blood, I would be dead… heh," she gave a humorless laugh, "Had I not been born with her blood, I would have been just another human…" Naruto audibly gulped at the tone in her voice.

-_She makes what Gaara and I went through look like heaven on earth…_-

His eyes found her bare forehead then her hands; he couldn't help but follow the discolored lines.

-_There's so many… just __**too**__ many…_-

He felt a prickling sensation at the corners of his eyes, but even despite the situation refused to cry, even if she wouldn't. Perhaps it was **because** she wouldn't.

"It was some time after Arashi was destroyed…" her voice was low as her eyes misted with memories, "I, for all my power, could do nothing…" those aqua-green orbs drifted to the ground, "and in my failure I damned myself, my whole being, my whole **existence**," the force with which she said that last word surprised Naruto, he'd never heard such spite in one word, "I cursed it all, and wished it all away!!" she shouted to the empty night, a simmering fury on her face, "after what happened, losing everything again, I couldn't stand myself… so, so I wish it to end," she gave another humorless laugh as she looked up at the forming stars, "I wished I never even existed to begin with, heh."

The fox-boy's fingers trailed the cool dirt under his fingers, "So what?" his voice was low and head was down, "So what happened?!" he glared up into her hopeless eyes, "What happened because of your wish?!" his eyes were burning, demanding an answer to some other question he was asking.

She gave a light smile, "Your world happened…" she said vaguely, "I ceased to exist, my being removed from the threads of reality," she looked at him sadly, "And everything rewrote itself," her eyes trailed to the flickering city below them, "without me in it…"

-_That can't… no… it's impossible…_-

"Bullshit!!" he pulled himself up from the dead leaves and soil, "That's bullshit and you know it!!" he yelled at her, eyes burning into hers, "If that was true, you wouldn't be here, standing in front of me!! None of this!" he waved his arms around him to include the world they were in right now, "Would be happening!!" he grabbed the collar of her trench-coat, "Now stop lying to me and tell me the truth!!"

She immediately smacked his hands away from her, "Fool, believe what you want but that is the truth…" her eyes turned to ice as she glared at his retreating form, "Your world resulted from my absence, because Kami sought to teach me a lesson, one I **CAN'T** undo, This!!" She waved her hand out to the forest around them, "This world is because **YOU** of all people, made the same mistake **I** did!!" she growled openly at him, "And I can't believe it, someone like you, the one who always said 'I'll never give up', 'I'll never back down', 'I'll **NEVER **go back on my word!!', **YOU** are here!!" she suddenly rushed the blonde, grabbing him by his rough collar and pinning him to the tree behind him, "You better be damn glad you can fix this!" she threw him roughly against the bough, and sneered down at him, "You have the option I was never given…"

-_Damnit, she's strong_...-

Naruto hacked as he tried to regulate his breathing form the impromptu strangling. He glared at the woman, 'Mao', with her crystalline eyes that stabbed into his bared flesh, "So what the hell are you in all this grandiose plan?"

She seemed to growl with a sinister grin, "I'm your guardian angel, of course..." her eyes became predatory, "It's my job to help you decide your fate…"

The young man couldn't help the disturbing chill that ran up his spine…


	7. Part the Sixth

**Part the Sixth…**

"_Get some rest…_"

That's what she had said, the woman called 'Mao' had told him, almost commanded him, before taking a quick seat against a large old tree and closing her eyes. To sleep or mediate Naruto didn't know, she was just ungodly still and he was hesitant to defy her orders.

-_She's like everyone I ever feared and respected rolled into one being… I simply __**can't**__ say 'no' to something she says…_-

He snorted as he turned over on the soft dirt he was sleeping on. Sure, not the best bed in the world, but he'd had worse, at least the ground was soft, and the area was quiet and peaceful, it made it almost seem safe.

-_It's almost like there's a presence nothing everything's afraid of… all the animals left this area, and nothing will come near…_-

His cerulean eyes traced the still form of the brunette. She sat up straight, not slouching in the slightest, shoulders broad, head leveled, body completely symmetrical with her hands together in the dragon seal parallel to her stomach. Never once did she move or twitch. She was just perfectly still.

-_I guess one thousand years would give you that kind of patience…_-

Naruto's face scrunched up at the thought.

-_Do I even want to __believe__ that crap she told me?_-

No matter how much he wanted to rationalize it, his heart kept telling him she was right. Then again, that twinge did feel a bit lower; maybe Kyuubi was trying to harass him about this weird woman. He turned over and scowled, "Tch…"

-_That bastard's been silent for this long, why'd he bother to start bringing shit up now? With this woman?_-

The blonde's brows furrowed even more, just thinking of that cretin. The beast in his belly that used to fight him at every turn, take any opportunity to demean him it could, had been silent for too damn long. He just suddenly shut up and took a backseat to everything the blonde did, not bothering to argue whenever the blonde would forcibly take its power by choice or anger. It just sat there, silent.

-_Now I get this feeling he wants to start some shit up again just because of this woman's presence…_-

Naruto thought about this for a moment. Why would the Kyuubi, which had all but turned its back on him, suddenly stir because of Mao? He glanced over his shoulder to find her still in the same position, still as stone under the tree; he even began to wonder if she was even breathing, **if** she even needed to…

-_Well the fuzz-ball does… all the time, snorting at me while he was cursing me…_-

Did demons even **need** to breathe? Or did they just go through the motions to annoy other beings? She was so ungodly still it didn't seem to make sense in his tired mind that she'd bother with the motion of breathing if she didn't have to… but still…

-_Ugh!! Why am I even thinking about this?!_-

He roughly turned over on the soft earth, his blue eyes just glaring at her, examining the still form for even the _smallest_ hint of motion. He found none. It was eerie to say the least. He got the feeling she was still breathing, but for some reason the motion wasn't obvious or visible. He felt absolutely nothing coming from her, no breathe, no chakra, not even a presence…

-_But something does feel creepy about this area… like it's wrapped in something I can't see…_-

He was distinctly reminded of the first time he had met the fox. The area in his mind was permeated with its youkai, but at the time he had no idea what that was, it was only years later he learned that the demon's chakra was that different. When he learned about youkai, it scared him, terrified him to his very core, it was energy, like chakra, just a demon's version, and about a million times more potent, and acted completely to the demon's will. Many permeated areas with their youkai, claiming it as theirs, the Kyuubi did it with the cell around the seal to try and scare Naruto, since apparently anything mortal had a natural aversion to the stuff, it simply left a feeling of discontent, and often consumed people with whatever emotion was infused within it.

-_If she __**is**__ a demon… like she claims… would that mean this area is permeated with her youkai?_-

His eyes looked around the area; he didn't find a hint of anything burning, melting, or overall being destroyed by the presence that settled in the area. In fact he didn't **see** anything really out of the ordinary… just no animals…

-_Silence and stillness huh?_-

He looked at his brunette confidant, grunted, and turned back over shaking his head.

-_There's just no way she can be a demon… she's just too… human…_-

His mind flashed to the look in her eyes when she told him about her life, what she was and where she came from. There was a distinct sorrow and sadness in them, the only time he saw a distinct '_Hatred_' was when she talked about her scars, and when she spoke of him there was only a heavy disappointment. He pouted, scrunching up his face, uncomfortable with the memory.

-_Demons don't feel pain, they don't get sad, feel 'sorry' about anything… hell they CAUSE pain and suffering, why would they feel it?_-

Due to his rather limited exposure of demons, I.e. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, and the horror stories he'd heard around, he was of the opinion most, if not all, demons were vicious, evil, and enjoyed cause mayhem and destruction.

-_But 'Mao' doesn't…_-

Now he was at an emotional dilemma, on one hand, demons were evil, on the other there was Mao. For all intents and purposes she wasn't evil, aside from a few personality quirks, which Naruto had to admit followed oddly close to his way of thinking… yes, she wasn't evil. She'd yet to overtly threaten his life for no good reason, and wasn't burning off youkai in an attempt to intimidate him or blow up the local area. She didn't seem the least bit interested in terrorizing humans or consuming their flesh, then again, he hadn't seen the woman eat once the entire time he'd been following her…

-_Do demons eat? I mean the Kyuubi always said he'd eat me, but that was more a threat than anything else…_-

The blonde shook his head. He'd have to leave this debate up for later. As of right now, he would say he didn't believe she was a demon, something not quite 'human' sure, how she 'slept' seemed to prove that, but a demon? He wasn't convinced.

-_Besides, if she was a demon, would she just look like an ordinary person? I mean she makes Kotetsu and Izumo look exotic if it weren't for her scars… and then she puts Ibiki to shame…_-

Naruto closed his eyes; he would try to get some sleep. He didn't know what part of her story to believe, the scars probably, they were in fact right in front of him and sheer rage he saw in her eyes was no lie, so he would believe that. But the whole thing about the village? Him, dying? Her being a demon? No, not really, he'd have to wait until tomorrow to make his own conclusions, there were a few things he had to see to make sure.

-_And then… __**only **__then… will I believe her…_-

The voice in his mind held a deep determination, he would eventually find the truth of what was going on, and then… then he would find out what he had to do.


	8. Part the Seventh

**Part the Seventh…**

He dreamed of blackness, nothing but a continuing empty void his subconscious body was merely floating in. It felt as if a liquid running along his skin, as if the darkness was actually an ocean, but even this didn't last as there was a lightness of air to the void as well, it was both there pressing on all facets of his skin, but at the same time completely absent. The feeling was both vaguely familiar and completely new, even in the presence of the Kyuubi, when his mind was taken over or when he almost ripped the seal from the bars, when that monster burrowed deep into his mind and brought about that nothingness, it wasn't like this. Even 'nothing' couldn't compare to this. His unconsciousness was overwhelmed and consumed and he was simply swallowed whole by what could only be called 'the void'.

… Then another kick met the other side of his ribs sending him crashing into the land of the living…

"AHHH!!" the blonde screamed, clutching into a small ball on the soft dirt he had been sleeping mildly comfortably until a certain someone made their existence known. His hand rubbed the bruised bone while his head tilted towards his assailant, his left eye cracked only the slightest bit necessary to see that woman with her null-not-quite-scowling-face, those strange aqua-green eyes just staring down at him like he was part of the dirt he was curled up on.

Overall he couldn't help the disgruntled grunt in his voice, "Jeez, what the hell Mao?!" he breathed in deep through clinched teeth as the slightest twinge sent a pain through the swore spot, "Do you **have** to do that every time? Just a little nudge would do, no need to kick hard enough to crack a couple'a ribs," he grimaced again from the new pain.

She crouched down to his level, her pale face leveled with his and tilted to the side like a confused animal. For a moment he thought she was going to say she was sorry…

… Then she reached out and poked him in his sore spot with enough force that there was a audible crack as one of his ribs just split in two…

This time however he managed to keep quiet as the pain registered in his body, adrenaline keeping it down for the most part while he was furiously biting his lower lip while his eyebrow went on a rampage.

-_The __**HELL**__ is her problem?! I say I'm injured and she goes and makes it worse!!_-

He had enough dignity to glare at her back, full-force with the epileptic eyebrow on its heels.

She simply tilted her brunette head the other way, her eyes carrying a strange curiosity in them as she just looked at the curled up blonde next to her. She clicked her tongue, "Huh…"

And there went his eyebrow again…

-_'Huh?' "HUH!!" what the hell is there to 'huh?' about?! You just broke my rib with a poke!!_-

She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and sighed before standing back up to her full height and staring down that the boy at her feet. The blonde in question just stared at her incredulously the whole time. She tilted her head slightly again, "I honestly thought I was just tapping you," she said out of thin air.

-_A tap!?!_-

His mind raged as his eyebrow seemed to translate it all in moors-code to the brunette. He managed to lift his head enough to glare open eyed at her indignantly, "a tap?!" he clinched his teeth, "'A tap' doesn't leave me with bruised, or in this case, BROKEN!! Ribs!!"

She merely shrugged at his outburst, almost bored at this point, "I've spent a whole lifetime on my own with no one bothering to look my way, only Kami as my company," then she did something completely stupid and ruining all the 'bad-ass' rep she's been building; she put her hand behind her head, scratched it, while giving a cheesy 'I'm sorry' grin with her eyes closed…

The kicker, "but I guess I don't know my own strength, ne? hehe," topping it all off with a cheesy wide mouthed grin…

-_If she were blonde and had markings on her face I think I'd be looking in the mirror of every time I did something stupid…_-

The blonde had no idea the irony of his thought, since he had no idea of the details of 'Mao's' former life, but needless to say he only glare blankly back at the idiocy of a display he knew he'd pulled about a billion times before.

-_But then again, that also means I know for a fact she's telling the truth… damnit…_-

He gave one last glare before wholeheartedly sighing. He knew his thoughts were right, if she pulled something that stupid, and familiar to him, and if she **did** know him in some other life like she claimed she'd know that kind of thing would work on him, "Tch," he looked away with a pout, "fine… just don't do it again, it's a real pain in the ass having to walk around with busted up ribs, ya know?"

She gave him a charming smile, and Naruto had the random thought that if he really looked hard enough, he could see a genuine smile on her face. He shook his head looking away from her and her smile.

-_She smiles all the time… it's not like that smile is scheming or fake or something… right?_-

He didn't have any more time to think as Mao turned around and started heading down the sunny side of the hill they had slept on, down a path he could tell led towards that fake Konoha. He swallowed hard as he stood up, not from the slowly numbing pain in his chest, or the upset stomach he was starting to feel, but simply the idea of going _there_.

-_Its Konoha… so I've nothing to worry about… right? It's just like it's always been, everyone will be happy to see me, everyone will cheer my homecoming… everything will be alright…_-

His mental pep talk managed to get him on his feet and heading towards the path, but the sunlight glared in his cerulean eyes a moment and he was again face to face with the truth. _Six_ Hokage faces; two that didn't belong and one that was missing. All he could do was growl mentally.

-_Mao was right… this isn't __**MY**__ Konoha… it'll never be_-

He glared at the deformed monument, it wasn't that he hated the two men who's faces he never thought he'd see on it, far from it, but he knew who was supposed to be there… only she was nowhere in sight. His feet stayed rooted to the ground, not sure to move on towards the place that had answers or remain and deny it just a little longer.

Luckily, he didn't have to make the choice himself…

"Oi!!" her shout was easily twenty feet away and quickly snapped him out of his brooding, "You keep glaring like that and I'll have to poke some more of your other ribs," she stopped a moment, turning her aqua-green gaze towards him, "So?" she gave a peculiar, and he hated to admit that it felt oddly familiar, smirk, "You coming or what, Otou-kun?"

-_Can she just read my mind or what?_-

Naruto absentmindedly brought a hand to scratch the back of his head, shaking it with his eyes closed, "Tch," he glanced back at the monument a moment, before turning back to his 'guardian', that smirk still on her face. It made him pout, "Hmp," he put his arms behind his head, his feet trailing behind her trying to catch up, "Sure, why not…"


	9. Part the Eighth

**Part the Eighth…**

Coming up to the gates of Konohagakure no Sato, Naruto couldn't help the nostalgia or joy the simple sight brought to him. For a moment, he was back with Jiraiya coming home from his long training journey. The sights and sounds of home a beacon beckoning him home, to the place where he knew there was at least some who cared and loved him, some who treated him like family, and cared for him just as deeply. And here he was, coming home.

-_But things are different, aren't they…_-

His brows lowered as his cerulean gaze left the large open gates, his memories and the word around him colliding and only one was going to stand in the end, and he knew for a fact reality always won over memories, no matter how pleasant or harsh either was.

A clear sunny afternoon sky became a slightly cloud morning. The pack that had been on his back when he returned disappeared into empty air. The peerless gates he was used to were chipped with paint crumbling off. The monument had six faces. And the Ero-sennin that had been standing next to him with a wide shit-eating grin had shrunk and morphed into the placid, almost bored expression of Mao.

Everything was gone, and he was back here again.

"Come on," Mao's crisp voice interrupted his nostalgia, "Let's get this over with…"

Naruto was taken aback a moment by the sound of her voice. It wasn't the flat tone, or the crisp almost androgynous way she made herself sound, it wasn't that gruff almost growl that always hung in the back of her throat either.

-_She sounds pissed… like she knows something I don't about this place…_-

He looked back at the gates, how by the way the light moved in the early morning made it look almost darker, more ominous, almost threatening.

-_Konoha is Konoha, isn't it? Even without me in it, it wouldn't change that much… right?_-

The blonde boy tried to cheer himself up, even if he considered it a rather roundabout way. His stomach growled but he didn't feel exactly hungry. It was almost a nauseating feeling, the next best thing he could describe it as was being punched in the gut since he hadn't experienced a flu in his entire life. Whatever it was, it was there as his feet followed Mao in, and stayed as they continued down the street.

-_It seems kind of empty… guess no one's really up this early or out shopping now…_-

Mao kept a brisk pace down the main street of Konoha, the one that led straight to the Hokage's tower. Naruto's blue eyes trailed the street behind her all the way to the rustic building, wondering who it was that was sitting in that chair.

-_If __**those**__ faces are to be trusted its Kakashi-sensei… as weird as that feels even thinking it…_-

His eyes looked away from the open glass of the Hokage's office. He wasn't sure he could handle it right now, seeing his lazy sensei in the chair he always wanted. His eyes caught Mao taking a right down a back alley and at this point he didn't have the mind to ignore her and keep going.

-_Going? Where to? I know this place, but for the life of me I can't think of a single place I'd __**want**__ to be right now!!_-

His feet made the decision for him, quickly making a 90 degree turn and following his trench coated accomplice without so much as a word. After following her for a few minutes Naruto began to realize that he didn't recognize this side of town.

-_That's strange… I know Konoha like the back of my hand… why would there be a street I don't know?_-

For the sheer stupidity of argument he looked at the back of his right hand. He noticed he had a light shaded freckle right below where his thumb connected with his hand.

-_Okay, so maybe I'm not that familiar with the back of my hand…_-

He simply snorted, putting both hands behind his head and aimlessly followed his estranged acquaintance.

-_She's been real quiet… ever since we entered the village…_-

The blonde had the sudden urge to strike up a conversation with the mysterious woman named Mao but nothing seemed to come to mind. This was strange, he was 'Naruto' after all, the village's most unpredictable ninja, loudmouth, and overall definition of 'random', and he couldn't think of a single thing to say to a woman that had been acting as chummy to him as a sibling since he met her.

-_How strange…_-

So the hyperactive ninja settled for what he'd been doing around her lately, watching and observing.

-_Now if anyone who knew me saw this they'd probably have a heart-attack…_-

The thought brought a hint of sorrow to his face but he doubted anyone would notice it. Mao was facing forward, and they were walking along random back-alleys he couldn't for the life of him recognize. He shook his head and went back to 'observing'.

-_Damn…_-

In the few minutes he watched her move along the back alley he realized Mao was either extremely experience with this area, a well trained ninja, or simply had excellent luck. Without so much as moving a muscle she avoided trashcans, broken crates, bottles, random junk, swinging doors, low windows, a random dog, and even a few bird droppings right above her.

-_And she makes it look so damn easy…_-

A soon as Naruto thought that a bucket load of trash rained down on him. The rancid smell of long forgotten fruit and vegetables along with various other well-past-their-date foods began to soak into his jacket and hair. His left brow simply twitched.

-_Whatever happened to my luck… oh yea…_-

"Damnit," he mumbled to himself, eyes finding a third floor balcony with the door open. A figure with long dark hair stepped out in his pajama pants and before Naruto's brain registered what was about to happen to him he tried calling out to the face he almost recognized, "Hey, Ne-" the remainder of his shout was drowned out by the sound of unmentionable garbage raining down on him.

-_What the- didn't he see me?!_-

"HEY!! WHAT THE HELL, NEJI!!" his cerulean eyes were burning at the balcony as the dark haired older man pushed his hair back and scanned the alley, almost as if he heard something. That was when Naruto noticed something different about his former rival.

-_Those burns on his face…_-

It wasn't the burns themselves that shocked them, it was the fact that they were in a very specific pattern he recognized. Three lines, almost like slashes of scarred flesh made from obvious chakra burns adorned the left side of a man Naruto swore was Hyuuga Neji. The pale eyes and seal on his forehead were something of a dead giveaway also.

"Neji?" a distinctly female voice called from inside the apartment, but Naruto couldn't put a face to the voice, even though he did recognize it, "Is there something wrong?" The young blonde could only gulp at the rather _familiar_ way the feminine voice spoke his former friend's name; that could only mean one thing…

-_Apartment, back alley… possibly bedroom? Neji has a girlfriend?!_-

"No," his voice seemed deeper for some reason, "Nothing at all," his pale eyes scanned the alley again, completely passing over Naruto as if he wasn't even there, before walking back into the apartment and closing the door on the third floor.

Naruto's brain just crashed…

"Wha-" his befuddled body simply turned from the bizarre scene above him to the placid face and strange Hitae-ate of Mao. She seemed to just stand there, patiently waiting for him to reboot his brain and form a coherent sentence. This took about five minutes.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" the blonde shouted and pointed in outrage at the balcony three stories above them, that only moments ago held the form of someone he thought he knew since he was a younger Genin.

Mao's aqua-green eyes simply looked from the furious blonde to the vacant balcony and back, the same placid expression played on her face the entire time, "I believe that was Hyuuga Neji dumping his trash out on you…"

Naruto audibly growled and clinched his fists at the brunette's blasé attitude, "No," he growled at a more 'normal' volume, "What was he doing there? Why were there burns on his left check?" the blonde picked at his now rather ruined jacket, "**WHY** didn't he seem to notice me?!"

She raised a brunette brow, looking at the balcony again, "It looked to me like he was getting a booty-call…" for a moment it sounded like someone just hit the alley floor, really, Really, **REALLY** hard. When she faced the blonde again it looked like he'd slammed his face into the pavement, or was simply blushing, she couldn't really tell… or simply didn't care.

-_Too… Much… Information…_-

He growled audibly at her again, which didn't seem to phase the self-proclaimed demon one bit, "T-that's not what I was asking and you know it!!"

She shrugged nonchalantly, turned around and began walking again.

"Hey!" the blonde shout as he started after her, "Aren't you going to answer me?!" She looked over her shoulder a moment when he was a few feet from her, never stopping her pace, but making Naruto freeze to his spot. There it was again, that strange red glare in her eyes as she looked at him, but even with the absence of killer intent, he could tell the absolute anger in her that simple look.

-_Scary…_-

She turned back to her path, "don't worry about it for now, you'll find out soon enough," her pace picked up again, her voice louder this time and not so much of an edge to it, "Now hurry up, Gaki!! We got places to go!!"

Naruto gulped as his feet made the decision for him.

-_Am I sure I want to know…_-


	10. Part the Ninth

**Part the Ninth…**

Leaving the alleyway left a bitter taste in Naruto's mouth, and it wasn't from the rancid 'juices' leaking into his favored jacket from the garbage his once thought of 'friend' had just dumped on him. His head hung slightly, the look in Mao's eyes when she turned back to him.

-_She knows something… something she's not willing to tell me until I see it for myself probably…_-

He openly frowned.

-_Why do I get the feeling it's something worse than just Neji getting a new fashion statement on his face and getting friendly with Tenten…_-

About halfway down the alley, away from the aforementioned apartment one Hyuuga male was currently 'occupying' the blonde had had something of an epiphany, finally putting a name to the voice. Then again, it may have also had something to do with the rather loud male voice screaming her name in the throes of passion about ten minutes later too.

He visibly shuttered.

-_Don't think about it… you're not a pervert, you don't need to know what they do in their own apartment… don't think ab-_

Now that he thought about it, since when did those two have an apartment together? As his overactive imagination began to put answers to that question, and filling in the details of what he'd heard… he shook his head violently.

-_Stop. Thinking._-

As luck would have it, just as the eternal bliss of nothingness entered his mind, his face ran rather firmly into Mao's back. The result, him on his ass on cold morning pavement as his 'guardian angel' just looked down at him impassively over her shoulder.

"Oh my GAWD! Just look at you!" came a squeally voice from down the street. Naruto, from his position, got to see a slight twitch of annoyance cross his demon watcher's face, or more pronounced as her slightly pointed ears tilted back, almost like an irritated animal.

-_Wait, she's got pointy ears too?_-

Shoving that little piece of information into the back of his mind for the moment, he noticed her steel-like aqua-green eyes were fixated on something in the direction the high-pitched and rather annoying in his opinion, voice came from. His cerulean orbs followed her gaze… and if thought seeing Neji was weird, this world just got even weirder…

"I-Ino?" he managed out, because right in front of him, several feet away at the end of the street was in fact, it just had to be, Yamanaka Ino or someone that looked disturbingly like her.

-_But wait… she looks… older?_-

In fact she did, the Yamanaka heiress was taller than the last time he'd seen her, and her hair was longer, hell she even looked 'chunkier'. The concept of body-fat actually existing on the gossip-girl was just plain weird and deserved a head tilt, since it was in fact, right in front of him.

What was even weirder was the person she was talking to…

-_N-no… no… that's just… no…_-

While Naruto's poorly abused mind was trying very desperately to piece together what on earth would have THOSE TWO talking, on the street, like normal people was absolutely beyond him…

"T-that's…" he pointed helplessly from his position on the ground, "That's Temari, right? Gaara's sister and number one bad-ass amongst the Konoichi my age I know?" his left eye twitched as he looked up to Mao, whose face was still as readable as a blank chalkboard before continuing on his little tirade, "WITH A **KID** ON HER HIP!" there was full force eye twitching going on now.

-_I've gone insane… that has to be it…_-

Mao just shrugged, crossing her arms, eye sight unchanged.

The blonde male just turned his gaze back to the two blonde women at the end of the road, his eyes landing directly on the little **black** haired child in the older woman's arms. The child was holding on to what had to be its mother protectively, and despite it looking no more than a year old, had this deeply perceptive and aware look in its eyes, like it knew what was going on, and it was staring right at Naruto with dark, dark, dark blue eyes.

-_If I didn't know any better I'd swear that was…_-

"Ne, Shikari-chan, what are you looking at?" the child's mother cooed at the baby, its inquisitive and knowing eyes leaving the prone blonde down the road to look up into the far lighter blue eyes of her mother.

The older version of Ino just smirked, "I swear, every time I see her, she reminds me more and more of Shika…" the look that came over the Yamanaka 'woman's' face wasn't exactly happy, almost like she was sorry about something.

The older blonde woman just seemed to brush it off, bouncing her little daughter like nothing was wrong; "Heh, I keep thinking that too, that lazy bum…" the passive smirk that was normally so cocky seemed almost empty on the woman's face now. She raised the baby up, a more honestly look on her face, "I swear, if you start watching clouds all day and beating me in shogi I'm gonna have to send you to your grandparents."

Ino just seemed to smirk at the mother and child, nostalgia covering her face, and a bit of that old playful teen she used to be snuck its way in, "Well, with being the child of you two geniuses, I'm sure she'll be beating her granddad by the time she turns three…"

Temari snorted as she lowered her daughter, "She's already done that," she gave Ino's shocked look a Cheshire grin before nuzzling her baby, "She just hasn't beat mommy yet!" she closed her eyes and smiled widely chuckling with her baby as her knowing eyes just seemed to sparkle as she made little baby gurgles of joy.

Hand met forehead as Ino seemed to almost swoon, "I swear, you two…" she sighed deeply.

Temari returned her baby to the comfort of her chest as she gave the woman across from her a cheeky grin, "So, when's my little Shika-chan here gonna get that playmate you promised?" sandy blonde eyebrow raised for effect.

It was an epic moment in history as Ino, yes Yamanaka Ino, in fact an **ADULT** Yamanaka Ino just seemed to freeze as her face turned an interesting shade of red.

The former Suna-Konoichi just seemed to smirk at that response, "I take it you just found out didn't you?"

"Eh-he…" Ino just seemed to squirm and twiddle with her fingers, "Well, it's not like it was _completely_ planned… and…" the way she was acting all embarrassed was definitely sending off red flags in Naruto's mind, there was something weird going on, and with it being all in 'woman-speak' he had no clue what it was. He looked to Mao a moment; she was a woman, right? She could explain this, right?

The demoness just raised a brunette brow at his questioning gaze, as if to say 'I'm not translating'.

-_Damnit, the one time I'm interested in gossip and the only woman I can turn to won't help me out… is there some female 'don't-tell-guys' code or something?_-

The incredulous look Temari, **and** Shikari were giving the other blonde was downright amusing. The mother of the pair spoke, "You haven't told him yet, have you?"

The younger blond did something no one, especially not Naruto had seen her do before, she pressed her index fingers together and just stared at them as she spoke in a low tone, low enough that even the whisker faced young man couldn't hear.

-_Damnit, what's she saying? I wanna know!_-

He may not have been that close to Ino, but he respected her a lot, she'd changed since he'd known her, from former-Sasuke-fangirl-extraordinaire to master of the mind and one kickass, and good looking, Konoichi he'd had the fun of having various missions with. Even he would admit some of them sucked, some were weird, but somehow both their 'blonde' mentalities seemed to just click and they got along quick enough, so she became one of his precious people. So of course he wanted to know why she was acting all skittish and girly!

-_Around Temari of all people!_-

Last he'd seen the two in the same room it was like having two vicious canines of different breeds fighting over a piece of meat. It was not a pretty sight, the verbal war between the two Konoichi was legendary in its own right, and dangerous, very, very, very dangerous. That and he was a guy, so therefore very afraid of rampaging Konoichi, and had no idea what sparked the 'war' or how bad it got, he just remembered sitting under a couch with Shikamaru as they both preyed the two would stop.

-_Speaking of Shika… that little girl… could she really be…?_-

There was a sigh above him, "I liked Rika better…" Cerulean eyes found the slightly tanned features of Mao's face not as placid, nostalgic once again. She seemed to sense his stare and her oddly colored eyes met his, "She was their daughter in my time…" she turned back to the gossiping women and tilting her head, "Though, I do find the continuation rather ironic, so many things seem to stay the same despite what's been removed…" the undertone to her voice was rather distinct to Naruto's ears, very sad, almost regretful.

Naruto pondered her words a moment before opening his mouth, a rather unusual thing he seemed to be doing since he wound up here, wherever 'here' was, "So, can you like, see the future or something?" he knew it sounded stupid but he didn't know any other way to voice his thoughts. He'd just seem something that would be impossible in 'his' world, as he was starting to realize what this woman had said may be true, and while they _just_ met what appeared to be Temari's daughter, he couldn't help the shutter that followed the absurdness of that thought, but Mao seemed to already know the girl rather well, despite her only being an infant in her mother's arms.

The aqua-green eyed woman seemed to shift her gaze down to him, deep in thought before answering his rather blunt question, "In a way, you could say…" she glanced back to the women and baby, "Being a Celestial, even one that has fallen and removed from reality like I have, still knows how to read the threads of the world, I still 'know' what has been and what will be…" her gaze lowered, a deep anguish crossing her face for but a moment, "At least, about this world…"

"So… uhh…" The young man, still sitting on the pavement, since he saw no reason to get up, just twirled doodles on the ground with his finger. It was a silly thought but he had to ask, "So, about my…"

"I said _**this**_ world didn't I?" he could feel that tone in her voice again, the one that accompanied that red glare in her eyes, the one that made a small voice in his mind tell him to run, to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. But he didn't move, he could feel her 'anger' dissipate as if she had more to say, which she did, "although, I do know about my world, and this one, and all the similarities that go with them that probably go with yours as well…" she suddenly turned on her heel and began walking in the direction away from the older looking Ino and Temari.

"Ma-Matte!" he called back quickly rising to his feet as he watched the trench coat wearing woman continue moving away. He stood a moment, first looking behind him at the seemingly happy older versions of two Konoichi he thought he knew, then back to the slowly disappearing back of one he was just beginning to.

-_Which to choose…_-

Behind him was a glimpse of something he never dreamed of, something that on the surface look happy and pristine. In front of him was a cold hard reality, the visage of a 'being' that knew something about this place that he didn't, something he probably didn't want to know or admit, but something he _**needed**_ to know so he could move on.

-_I only really have one choice, don't I Mao…_-

Steeling the look on his face he turned his back on the curiosity of the world around him, and focused it towards the woman still walking away. He took long strides, catching up to her seemingly towering form fast. He didn't turn to her, he didn't look at her, he just kept pace on the street right next to her, but his voice said it all, "Tell me Mao, what's wrong with this place…" his cerulean eyes, holding fury and determination he hadn't felt in a long time, turned to her showing just how serious he was, "What's so wrong that Kami's giving me a second chance to fix it?"

After those words left his mouth, was the first time he saw Mao actually grin. It was sharp, it was calculating, wicked and cruel, and gave him a pretty damn good look a canines that only a demon could posses. Her aqua-green eyes seemed to radiate a hidden light as they marginally glanced his way, "I knew you were smart when I first met you, I'm glad that hasn't changed…"

"Tch," he stuck out his lower lip while placing his fists roughly in his pockets, "'Look underneath the underneath', that was one of the first things Kakashi-sensei taught me…" his brow furrowed and his eyes slightly narrowed, "You knew that already didn't you?"

The fierceness seemed to leave her face slightly, "He was one of my closest friends," she looked him in the eye, that 'too human' feeling had returned to her looks, "He always spoke so highly about you, and how you always seemed to pick things up that others didn't…"

The blonde tilted his head back, "Like that back there?" the woman next to him nodded.

"They didn't seem right did they Naruto?" the steel was returning to her eyes, and for a moment, Naruto missed the softness, "That 'casual' conversation… it reeked didn't it… too happy, too convenient…"

"Not the optimistic type, ne, Nee-chan?"He scrunched his face up, trying to lighten the mood, even if he knew it wasn't needed or necessary. They were both smart Ninja, he fully understood that now. Whether or not Mao was a demon or a thousand years old, he knew for a fact she was a Ninja, a true Shinobi in every essence of the word. He just didn't know if he was prepared for the harsh reality she was going to bring down upon him.

She must have been able to read his thoughts in his eyes because the next moment the woman stopped dead in her tracks and just sighed. He stopped as well, not wanting to lose her, and curious about what was going to leave her mouth next. She opened her eyes and stared at him for a solid minute, her eyes crisp and clear, none of her hidden emotions or inner turmoil in them; she was being completely open and examining him. The line of her lips seemed to tilt down the barest fraction, "You're not ready yet…" and she turned to continue on her way.

-_Not ready? For what?_-

The blonde turned after her, quickly catching her again, "Nee-chan," he spoke softly, "What am I not ready for?" he too looked at her honestly and openly, searching her eyes for that hidden something she wasn't telling him.

Her eyes looked like that of someone who'd seen too much and never wanted to show it to another living being, "I'm not supposed to sway your judgment," she closed her eyes, needing to look away from him, her pace slowed, "I'm just supposed to be your guide through this journey, you are the only one that can make the decision…"

He placed his hand on her shoulder, the first contact he had initiated with this woman since he had woken up in that orchard of orange-blossoms yesterday. Her body stilled at the contact, and through his fingers he could feel the tightening of heightened muscles and reflexes being stopped, and he felt the power, the sheer unadultered power that her body possessed, even through several layers of clothing. For a moment, he wondered if this is what touching a god felt like.

In the next he squeezed his hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him, and again, that 'all too human' feeling came from her again as he asked what he probably should have asked long ago, "What decision must I make?"

That human pain filled her eyes again, the one she tried to hide with her placid face and rough manner of speech, but looking now, like this, her eyes could not hide any longer, "Which world will survive…"


End file.
